Ted Bell is an American author of suspense novels such as Hawke and Assassin, Pirate, and Spy and Warlord and Phantom. He is best known for his New York Times Bestselling series of spy thriller novels featuring the character Lord Alexander Hawke. Before becoming a novelist, he was President and Chief Creative Officer of the Leo Burnett Company in Chicago. He was later named Vice-Chairman of the Board and World-Wide Creative Director of Young & Rubicam, one of the world's largest advertising agencies. At age 25, he sold his first Hollywood screenplay, 'Screamathon' to producers Joel B. Michaels and Garth Drabinsky.